Thursday, September 03, 2015

A change is flagged

You know this flag.

I am sure you know this one, using my own photo.

How about this one, also my own?

But to which countries do these flags belong? Yes, I am writing to an international audience. They are clearly former English colonies which have not cut the cord to their origins. Well, one of the below has actually. I am not sure if it has been formalised.

The first flag is New Zealand's, the second Australia's and the third, Fiji's.

New Zealand is going to vote on a new flag and here are their options if the change goes ahead. I am afraid the second one is a non runner, for me at least, and the choice is down to three terrific contenders. I'll go for the first, which encompasses the red and blue of New Zealand's recent British heritage, the fern leaf, perhaps tenuously suggesting its earlier settlers and certainly its flora and the southern cross star constellation. As just a flag that doesn't represent much, I like the third one too.

There have been murmurs in the past about our own flag. In fact it was once high on the political agenda but the political will died and general apathy set it in. There is always an almost dead soldier who can be good for a news grab who will say in a tremulous voice, I fought for this country under this flag. I ask you foreign types, what could represent Australia on a flag? and don't say a spider or snake. S'pose Australian opinion is welcome too. No prisoner image in shackles please but I think we need to include in the flag a reference to those who have been here longer than than we more recent settlers.

Disappointingly, it seems by opinion polls of those who will vote, that there is not a clamour to change the flag in New Zealand. Seems like New Zealand's change the flag was just political posturing. Shame really.

19 comments:

We certainly need to include reference to our indigenous population. Can't see any change happening soon though. NZ's flag options are interesting. I think I like the first and the fourth (I assume the black is a nod to the Maori population) best.

My preference - not that it matters as I am not a 'NZer' - would be for the flag bottom left.

A friend of mine is very keen for Australia to have a new flag, specifically the Southern Cross against a plain blue background. I support a new flag but not one which includes the Southern Cross as that constellation arguably 'belongs' to any southern hemisphere country not just to Australia.

I'd like to see a flag with the Southern Cross constellation still, because we are in the Southern Hemisphere, but a smaller version perhaps in the bottom right corner and a diagonal division which is a branch of our golden wattle, with maybe a small coat of arms in the upper left corner. background colour is what I can't decide on. Maybe a teal which is neither blue nor green, but ocean coloured, since we are an island continent.

The best and most memorable flags are those that have one background colour and one simple object/pattern in the centre eg Japan, Israel, Switzerland, Canada, Congo, Turkey, Norway and Sweden.

The ones we will never remember are complex, multi coloured and multi shaped flags like South Africa, Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea. I have lived with South Africans all my life and even started to speak with a South African accent for a while, but I will never ever EVER remember their flag.

Andrew, Hels makes a good point in that Japan's minimalist flag must be the most recognizable flag ever.But I don't know the internal politics of why New Zealand wants a change in their flag. But it does look a bit too close to your own flag.

I quite like the top right choice of flag (the black & white twirly wirly pattern. I think I would remember that one very easily.

But I do sometimes wonder if all those old colony flags around the world will all have to change (including yours) if Scotland does eventually go independent. But lets hope they don't.

I like number 1 the best, of those four, When I think of Australia, as a foreigner, I think of modern cities, great expanses of brown flats, deserts, crocs, Kangaroos, koala bears, the great barrier reef, native people, white prisoner dump, patronistic English Christians who unwittingly torture and kill natives (like here) by dimly forcing/recruiting/baptizing them into a foreign and bible thumping culture. A brownish flag (background) to symbolize the vast deserts? Then two or three simple symbols of the past and present? But I can't think of what is most important because I don't live there. I'd just put a really super cute koala bear on the brown background and be done with it.

People in Europe (except maybe the UK) don't care very much about their flags. I don't even know anyone who owns one ! They are even hard to find if you want to buy one. The flags are always the same and nobody worries about. Even on National Day there are very few flags in the windows. What all countries do now is to show there flag on official buildings together with the one of the European Union.

PS. I have never heard of "ice users" you mentioned in your comment on my blog. Maybe it hasn't arrived in Belgium yet.

My public diary, not my private one. I live in a highrise apartment building in inner Melbourne. My interests are varied but top of the list are old buildings, history and public transport. You will find plenty of personal experiences to read in my blog too. Just be aware I am not an historian, amateur or otherwise. While I make some effort to be accurate, I don't do proper methodical research so I advise you check all details on your own behalf should you wish to quote me. Your comments are very welcome, but try to be nice to my fragile yet overblown ego. I enjoy receiving email. You can find my eddress in my complete profile.